Booking a return flight to the World Cup will be the order of business as the Philippines battles Uzbekistan in the play-in match of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup at the Robina Stadium in Robina, Australia on Thursday.
Game time is set at 11 a.m. (Manila time) with the Filipinas looking to end their campaign on a high note and formalize their entry to the 32-nation World Cup that will be staged in eight cities in Brazil from 24 June to 25 July next year.
After a humiliating 0-7 loss to Japan last Sunday, Filipinas head coach Mark Torcaso said they are determined to come up with a solid performance and make a return to the World Cup after an impressive performance in 2023 in New Zealand.
He said they will be marching in full force with goalkeeper Olivia McDaniel and forward Katrina Guillou set to be deployed after riding the bench in their previous match against the Japanese.
“I think we have several players in our squad who have experienced these kinds of scenarios before — both in a World Cup and even during our SEA (Southeast Asian) Games campaign. I believe our players are well equipped to deal with a big match like this,” said Torcaso, whose wards have won only once — a 2-0 victory over Iran — in their five games in this prestigious qualifier.
“More importantly, they are very supportive of each other and of the staff within the group. We know it’s going to be tough — every game in this tournament has been tough. Australia is in the final, and we held them to 1–0 in our first game.”
But Uzbek head coach Kotryna Kulbyte is unfazed, saying that they are ready to shock the Filipinas to enter the World Cup for the first time ever.
The Uzbeks lost to South Korea, 6-0, last Saturday, but it benched key players like Lyudmilla Karachik, Maftuna Shoyimova and Nilufar Kudratova while Diyorakhon Khabibullaeva played limited minutes in the second half.
“If you saw the big rotation of the team, (it was because) we are already thinking of the game in Gold Coast,” said Kulbyte, whose side last clash with the Filipinas in a friendly match last year that ended in a 2-2 draw.
“We already did our job here by reaching the quarter-finals, but we still have one more goal to achieve. We dream of reaching the World Cup, and we hope to do our job there.”
Should the Filipinas lose, their last chance to reach the World Cup will be the inter-confederation playoff in November.